Tofogliflozin Most Effective With High Baseline Insulin

These patients have largest improvements in fasting plasma glucose level, insulin secretion index

October 25, 2017 (Last Updated)

TUESDAY, Oct. 24, 2017 (HealthDay News) -- The sodium glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitor tofogliflozin is effective for reducing fasting plasma glucose and body weight, particularly in patients with a high insulin level at baseline, according to a study published online Oct. 15 in the Journal of Diabetes Investigation.

Kazuyuki Tobe, M.D., Ph.D., from the University of Toyama in Japan, and colleagues conducted a sub-analysis of a multicenter, open-label, 52-week, randomized controlled trial of
tofogliflozin as monotherapy in Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Patients were categorized into tertiles by baseline insulin level: low (L) insulin (≤5.6 µU/mL), medium (M) insulin (5.6 to 10µU/mL), and high (H) insulin (>10µU/mL).

The researchers found that HbA1c, fasting plasma glucose levels, and body weight were significantly reduced from the baseline in all three groups. The changes in levels of plasma glucose AUC0-2 hours, C-peptide index AUC0-2 hours during the meal tolerance tests, and the insulin secretion index were the largest in the H group. The three groups were similar in terms of incidence of drug-related adverse events.

"Although tofogliflozin was effective regardless of baseline insulin level, it showed the highest efficacy in the H group," conclude the authors.